Some say bold and beautiful eye makeup isn’t part of a post-40 beauty repertoire.
That’s silly. Women over 40 should rock bold eye makeup. We can do so with flair, confidence, and panache (that youth simply can’t buy).
But.
The skin around our eyes changes as we age. It stands to reason that our makeup strategy will need tweaking as skin matures.
Adapting doesn’t mean stepping away from bold looks. It means getting smarter about how to achieve them.
Stick around to explore the fun, fabulous, and fearless world of post-40 eye makeup.
Understanding Over 40 Eye Skin
Mature eye skin is like vintage lace—lovely and easily shows signs of wear.
Post-40, skin tends to lose elasticity, moisture, and collagen, making fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging appear more prominent.
This new geography makes it trickier to use standard eye makeup products in the same way we always have.
But fear not! We can work with this.
The first step is skincare. It’s newly important to prep the “canvas” (that persnickety eye area) for makeup masterpieces.
Skincare Tips For Over 40 Eye Makeup
Properly prepping skin can make a world of difference in how eye makeup looks and wears throughout the day.
Get it clean. First, make sure the eye area is makeup free every night. Letting even a pinch of makeup remain could irritate the delicate skin. Which will definitely make fine lines more pronounced.
Use a gentle makeup remover specifically designed for the eye area. It’s important to remove impurities without stripping away moisture.
Ish Mom Recommends:
- Clinique Take The Day Off Make Up Remover
- Lancome Bifacil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover
- Essence Remove Like A Boss Waterproof Eye and Face Makeup Remover
Layer products. I like to use an eye serum and an eye cream.
Pat both on (gently!) with the ring finger. Apply eye serum, then face serum, then eye cream to give the eye serum a chance to dry down and sink in.
Ish Mom Recommends:
Hydration is your best friend. Use a hydrating eye cream every morning.
Look for products containing hyaluronic acid and/or ceramides. These help plump skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines.
Ish Mom Recommends:
- Clinique Laser Focus Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream
- Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Cream
- COSRX Advanced Snail Hydrogel Eye Patch
Don’t skip on the sunscreen. UV damage can accelerate aging, opt for an eye cream with SPF or ensure your facial sunscreen is safe for use around the eyes.
Ish Mom Recommends:
- e.l.f. SKIN Suntouchable Whoa Glow SPF 30 Sunscreen and Makeup Primer
- Dermatone Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 No Touch Stick
Consider using a retinol eye cream at night. Retinol increases cell turnover, improving the texture and tone of post-40 skin.
Word of warning: start with a low amount and work your way up. Consult a dermatologist if you have sensitive skin.
Ish Mom Recommends:
- COSRX Retinol Cream Anti-Aging Eye and Neck Cream
- No7 Pure Retinol Eye Cream for Fine Lines and Wrinkles
- Peace Out Skincare Retinol Eye Stick
Seal it in. I started slapping on reusable eye patches this year, and they are a game changer.
After the last application of eye cream, place eye patches over the undereye area, and leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes.
Ish Mom Recommends:
Taking care of the eye area skin is essential for over-40 eye makeup looks.
Why Change A Perfectly Good Eye Makeup Routine?
The biggest reason to change an eye makeup look post-40? Disappearing features.
Yeah. Aging eyes start fading into the rest of the face.
Eyebrows and lashes thin, messing with the framework of the upper face. Increasing fine lines disguise the natural eye crease. And collagen loss leads to eyes looking more sunken.
But that’s fine. Makeup can be used to point out fading eye features.
Three Big Changes To My Post-40 Eye Makeup Routine
I’ve changed my eye makeup routine in three ways: product type, using more products (but strategically!), and application method.
I Broke Up With Powder Eyeshadow…
Powder eyeshadow recently began…looking weird on my hooded, ever-wrinkling eyes. So I tossed my powder eyeshadow palettes.
I’ve moved on to cream and stick eyeshadow. They sit much better on that brittle, hooded area, without accentuating texture and fine lines.
And they’re so much faster/easier to apply and blend!
Application
Just swipe straight from the tube and blend with your finger. I usually do just one color, but these products layer easily.
If you’re feeling fancy, blend a lighter color on the lid and a darker color in the outer corners.
Ish Mom Recommends
- RMS Eyelights Cream Eyeshadow
- Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color
- Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow Stick
…But Not With Shimmer
Note that I’m using the word shimmer, not glitter. I’m talking very fine particles, nothing chunky (that kind of formula will gunk up in fine lines).
I’m using more shimmery products than ever before.
I prefer liquid shimmer, the kind applied with a doe foot applicator. This formula acts like a filter on the eyelid, filling in fine lines and being an overall distraction.
Application
Apply straight from the tube! Start with a small dab and blend towards the outer corner of the eye. Let the product dry between coats.
Word of warning: be sure not to apply shimmer too high on the lid. It needs to stay below the crease. Shimmer can highlight texture, magnifying every fine line or sagging surface.
Ish Mom Recommends
Use More Products…
In my twenties, I used fewer eye makeup products but took more time to complete a look. (Using 3-5 shades of powder eyeshadow will do that.)
Since turning 40, I’ve been using more products around my eye area, but taking less time.
Ten years ago, a rose gold cut-crease look would immediately catch one’s attention: “Oh, cool, I love your eyeshadow!”
At 40, using more products, more subtly, people (women) squint and go, “Oh, how pretty! Are those your real eyelashes?”
…But Apply Less, And Strategically
But, even with adding more products, I’m using less. Cuz my skin no longer takes kindly to layering products.
This means that I’m only using dabs of undereye brightener, and then concealer. Only one coat (no, really, you’ll catch yourself trying to add more) of mascara primer.
Otherwise, my undereye area looks spackled (thanks slower skin cell turnover!), or my eyelashes look too spidery.
In my 40s, I use less makeup, in more places, to point out fading eye features. Eyeliner comes in particularly handy for bulking up (without weighing down like powder eyeshadow!) aging eyes.
New Products For My Over-40 Eye Makeup Look
I would have scoffed at using these products ten years ago. Now? They’re increasingly necessary.
Undereye Area
The days of triangle concealer is over. If I used that much concealer now, sure, dark circles would disappear. But texture and fine lines would be way more prominent. No, thanks.
Now I strategically layer two undereye products: a brightener and concealer (two kinds of concealer, even!).
Application
First, I use my ring finger to apply a bit of undereye brightener, focusing on just the inner corners. Then, I use an itty bitty concealer pencil to “fill in” undereye circles.
As I age, there’s a tiny (but increasingly noticeable) valley between my undereye area and the top of my cheekbone.
The tip of the concealer pencil fits perfectly within this divet; I literally color it in. Then, I tap (more than blend or swipe) the products into place with a small concealer brush.
The goal is for both the inner corner (and just the inner corner!) to look brighter, while the cheekbone and undereye area blend more seamlessly together.
Some days, this is the last step! But, most days, I need more help evening out my skin tone. So I’ll apply a cream concealer over these products with a small stippled brush.
Don’t Go Too Light (Shade-Wise)
Notice I said “even out my skin tone” and not “brighten my skin tone.” Most of us were taught to use a shade lighter than our skin tone for the undereye area. But that advice is for young people.
At this juncture, undereye concealer should match skin tone to best do its job (and look more natural). Post-40, a lighter shade of concealer only highlights darkness and texture.
Ish Mom Recommends
- Catrice Under Eye Brightener
- Smashbox Under Eye Brightening Corrector
- Pixi Beauty Correction Concentrate Brightening Peach Under Eye Colour Corrector
- Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Multi-Use Concealer
- Bling Glow Concealer Pencil
- e.l.f. Hydrating Camo Concealer
- Catrice True Skin High Cover Concealer
- Kosas Revealer Concealer
- RMS Beauty UnCoverup Concealer
Eyelid Area
In my twenties, I rarely used eye shadow primer. These days (despite not using powder eyeshadow!) I never skip a good priming.
Eye makeup products are more likely to slide around on aging eyes. And I really need everything to stay in place. Even if it’s just cream contour.
Yes, you read right. Due to a disappearing eye crease, I contour my eyes; a little swipe in my crease.
Just as I rarely primed the eye area in my youth, I rarely bothered to set it, either. However, using a blurring powder hides fine lines and ensures these products stay put.
Application
I use my ring finger to apply half a pea-sized amount of primer on each eyelid, blending towards my eyebrows.
I love the size of the e.l.f. Halo Contour wand. I glide it from one side to the other in my crease, blending with a face contour/eye crease brush or just my finger.
When eyelid products are dry, I carefully pat my undereye and eyelid with a small concealer brush dipped in powder.
Ish Mom Recommends
- Milani Eyeshadow Primer
- e.l.f. Halo Glow Contour Beauty Wand
- RMS Beauty Unpowder Finishing Powder Makeup
Lashes and brows
Previously, I’d slap on one coat of regular mascara, maybe run a clean spoolie brush through my brows. But, just like the hair on our head, lashes and brows thin with age.
Show off natural lashes with tightlining, mascara primer, and careful mascara application. (We’ll talk about growth serums soon.)
Application
Using primer builds up sparse lashes so much better than mascara alone. Also, my lashes don’t hold a curl like they used to. Primer helps.
I carefully apply one coat of mascara primer. You will be tempted to use primer like mascara. Do not. I mean just. one. coat.
Follow primer with a few coats of mascara. Using a small, plastic eyelash brush to separate lashes once products are dry.
Then, I tightline (a necessary but intimidating step!).
The Importance of Tightlining
“Tightlining” is where you apply eyeliner directly to the roots of lashes. Not above (that’s regular eyeliner), but directly in there.
Yes, that means putting the pencil very, very close to your eyeball. But there’s just no better way to highlight thinning lashes. Extra color at the base of lashes gives an illusion of extra thickness.
It’s like yelling “MY LASHES START RIGHT HERE, FOLKS.”
Ish Mom Recommends
- Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner Pencil
- Estee Lauder Little Black Primer
- RMS Beauty Straight Up Volumizing Peptide Mascara
- Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions
Eyebrow and Lash Enhancement after 40
At our age, we can’t talk about eyebrows and lashes without mentioning enhancement.
Post-40, brows thin, disappearing into the forehead. Which is a real bummer, well-defined eyebrows help frame the eyes and face.
Listen, if eyes are the windows to the soul, then eyebrows are the curtains and eyelashes are the sashes. We don’t want them to be raggedy.
You may be tempted to hide thinning eyelashes with false eyelashes. I understand the urge, but use caution on post-40 eyelashes. Too many false sets and you’ll damage your real ones.
Try changing the way you do your brows, apply mascara, and add growth serums first.
Application
As my brows thin, I spend more time penciling them in with short, careful strokes. Post-40, eyebrow glue is non-negotiable. I don’t want those babies to move, that’ll just re-expose the sparse parts.
Ish Mom Recommends
- RMS Beauty Back2Brow Pencil
- RMS Beauty Back2Brow Powder
- e.l.f. Instant Lift Waterproof Brow Pencil
- NYX Professional Makeup The Brow Glue
- GrandeBROW Brow Enhancing Serum
- Castor Oil Eyelash Growth Serum with Mascara Tube
Mastering Post-40 Eyeliner
Abandoning powder eyeshadow doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned color. That’s where eyeliner comes in.
My signature eye look has become a bare (or slightly shimmery) lid with a swipe of pigmented eyeliner above my lashes.
I don’t do any particularly tricky looks, but don’t that stop you. Maybe the whole Foxy eyeliner trend will look good on your eye shape.
Eyeliner Type
Gel and pencil eyeliner flatter my post-40 eyes better than other formulas.
I loved the staying power of liquid eyeliner, but now I find that it doesn’t dry quickly enough for my (increasingly) hooded eyes. The slightest movement and it smears.
Victoria Beckham kajal eyeliner is my favorite at the moment. It’s a pigmented powerhouse that blends easily. That makes it ideal for my fine lines: I can use just a bit and the formula glides right over them.
I own several colors from that line, switching them up depending on what eye feature I want to highlight. Purple for the green in my eyes, navy for the blue, and brown to make lashes look naturally thick.
Look up what hues flatter your eye color for a subtle eye-catching effect sans eye shadow.
Ish Mom Recommends
- Maybelline New York Eyestudio ColorTattoo Metal 24HR Cream Eyeshadow
- Maybelline New York Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
- e.l.f. No Budge Retractable Eyeliner
- Laura Geller Kajal Longwear Kohl Eyeliner Pencil
- Julep When Pencil Met Gel Longwear Eyeliner Pencil
Don’t Forget The Nude One
I know, I’m adding another product I never would have used in my 20’s and 30’s.
But tightlining my lower lid with a shimmery nude pencil makes me look refreshed. Pink and peach nudes look good on me, your ideal color depends on your coloring.
Ish Mom Recommends
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Highlighting Duo Pencil
- Maybelline Color Tattoo Longwear Multi-Use Eye Shadow Stix
- wet n wild Color Icon Cream Eyeshadow Makeup Multi-Stick
Eyeliner Application Tips
Practice makes perfect! Try new eyeliner styles, application methods, etc, in the evening, right before washing your face.
No harm, no foul if you mess up; you’ll be washing it off anyway.
Don’t be afraid to involve both hands. It might be necessary to use the non-dominant one to (gently!) pull back sagging skin for a smooth application.
Here are some other tips and tricks:
- If black eyeliner is looking too harsh these days, opt for chocolate brown, navy, olive green, or plum
- Don’t line the whole eye: if lining under lower eyelashes, go less than halfway across the eye (lining the entire undereye makes eyes appear smaller)
- If you’ve got good eye makeup remover, start using waterproof formulas
- Without good eye makeup remover, waterproof formulas are too hard to get off, the tugging and wiping required can damage the aging eye area
- Don’t forget the inner corner highlight!
- When tightlining, really wiggle the pencil between lashes (to better define them)
Conclusion
Post-40 eye makeup is less about dimming your sparkle and more about refining your shine. Remember, being more restrained with makeup choices doesn’t strip away the fun—it opens a new avenue to play with elements like colored mascaras and eyeliners that might have been intimidating before.
This lighter, more tailored approach to post-40 eye makeup is more flattering and saves time—a precious commodity at any stage of life.
I’m eager to see how my routine evolves when I step into my 50s. Our makeup journeys are personal and ever-changing; please experiment with these tips and share your outcomes (don’t forget to tag me!).
Want More?
Need some more makeup and skincare content? Check these articles out:
- Best Over 30 Eye Makeup Tips
- e.l.f. The New Classics Eyeshadow Palette Review
- The Most Affordable Skin Care Routine for Your 30s
- 13 Best at Home Anti-Aging Skincare Devices (2023 Guide)
You Tell Me
How has your makeup and skin routines changed over the years? Let me know, I’m curious.
Happy aging gracefully!
Love,
